Tag: Spot Illustration

Off the Page is a regular interview series featuring National Magazine Award winners. Recently we spoke with Adrian Forrow, who won his very first National Magazine Award in 2016, winning the Gold Medal in Illustration for his series of illustrations featured alongside the article “My Prescribed Life” (The Walrus). The story is a memoir about the longstanding link between mental health and prescription dependency, and it also received an Honourable Mention for Best Health & Medicine article.

NMAF:As splashes of colour that break up pages otherwise saturated by text, magazine illustrations give the reader a welcomed break, a moment’s pause before they jump back into reading. What do you think the role of an illustration is for people reading magazine articles?

Adrian: The role of editorial Illustration should be additive. It should help set the mood of the forthcoming text. The image can help evoke visual interest and transport the reader to a place where ideas and understanding intersect.

NMAF:What details do you need before you can properly begin your creative, designing process? Are there certain elements or information that your client or partner needs to relay, in order for you to develop your concept?

Adrian: What I find that works best for me is to receive the brief and the text and really absorb the core idea before putting pen to paper. Once I feel I have a grasp of the idea, I might discuss the tone of the imagery that I feel is best for the article. This is where collaboration can happen with the art director and it’s a great way to help inform your imagery. I try not to think about the imagery at this stage–just the mood, atmosphere and tone of the picture.

The other detail that is critical for my process is the dimensions of the image. It’s really important for me to consider the whole compositional area. The dimension can ignite my conceptual approach and really make the art feel customized to the space available.

NMAF:You won Gold in Illustration at last year’s National Magazine Awards for your pieces featured in a memoir called “My Prescribed Life.” The story, published in The Walrus, discussed the link between the author’s mental illness and related dependence on medication. How did the subject matter of the memoir influence your creative conceptualization for the piece? How did you decide what tone would be most appropriate?

Adrian:This was a great article and so interesting. It was a delicate and somewhat saddening topic. I knew the colours were going to be really important. I didn’t want to do what was expected. I knew I had to take an approach that might have to be more ambiguous and surreal.

I didn’t want to use this illustration to summarize or define the problem. Instead my intent was to ask a question or pose a contemplative composition so the viewer would be left to decipher the visual symbols that I included.

The colours were mostly primary and that helped carry the idea of youth and aging. The colours also helped to create a surreal or even jarring feeling in relation to the content. The goal was for the colours and composition to carry ideas about an altered state of reality.

NMAF:Your Gold win last year was also your first time being recognized by the National Magazine Awards Foundation. How does winning awards for your illustration work help you, on both a personal and professional level?

Adrian:It feels great to know that my work is being received and appreciated within the industry. Personally, it helps to motivate me to keep developing my skills as a visual communicator. Professionally, it helps to open doors and possibilities for new and exciting opportunities.

NMAF:Your work has adorned coffee cups, been part of the creative for major music festivals and has been made larger-than-life by outdoor mural installations. Your work has also appeared in magazines, including The New Yorker, Corporate Knights and The Walrus. As an illustrator, what types of creative collaborations do you like to pursue? Do you try to not limit yourself to any one medium?

Adrian:I feel that in many ways I am just getting started. I have so many ideas and desires to push what I can do. The best thing about my profession is the variety it offers. One day I’m drawing a coffee cup, the next day I’m painting a huge outdoor mural. Variety is the spice of life, so I try to be diverse in the projects I take on.

I also love the collaborative process and making things that fulfill a need or desire. I have always experimented with different approaches and tools for making images. I think it helps my clients see different possibilities and vary their experiences with illustration.

As of now, I have been collaborating with Warby Parker for a new store mural which I am really excited to share with people. I have also been collaborating with Keilhauer to make some artful promotional products.

Adrian Forrow is a National Magazine Award-winning illustrator whose work has been published in The Walrus, Corporate Knights, Canadian Running & Cycling Magazine and The New Yorker. His debut National Magazine Award was the Gold Medal in Best Illustration, for his series of illustrations featured in The Walrus memoir, “My Prescribed Life“.

Submissions to the 40th Anniversary National Magazine AwardsThe 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards are open for submissions until January 20, including awards for Illustration and for Best New Magazine Illustrator.
Enter at magazine-awards.com.

In alternate years, the NMAF presents distinct awards for Best New Magazine Illustrator and Best New Magazine Photographer. For this year’s 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards, the Best New Visual Creator award will go to an illustrator whose early work in magazines shows the highest degree of craft and promise.

Canadian magazine creators and readers are getting excited to see who will win this year’s National Magazine Awards, happening on June 5. The nominees have been announced and this year’s jury has nominated 5 finalists for the award for Spot Illustration. The Gold and Silver winners will be announced at the 38th annual National Magazine Awards gala on June 5 in Toronto. [Tickets & Gala Info].

Here’s a look at the five nominees for Spot Illustration this year:Byron Eggenschwiler
Byron Eggenschwiler is a five-time National Award-winning illustrator, with three Golds and two Silvers, along with four Honourable Mentions. His work has appeared in Swerve, Maisonneuve, Cottage Life, Canadian Business, Up Here and other Canadian magazines.
This year his illustration that accompanied the story “Up, Up and Away” in the May 2014 issue of Cottage Life has earned him a nomination. Byron’s illustration supports the story of how highway passages are protecting animals from busy roadways.
And check out our Off the Page interview with Byron in which he chats about the career of a magazine illustrator.Patrick DoyonAlthough this is Patrick’s first time being nominated for a National Magazine Award, his artistic abilities have been internationally recognized, as his animated film, Dimanche, was nominated in 2011 for an Academy Award for animated short film.
This year, his illustration which appeared in the August 2014 edition of Maisonneuve magazine, accompanying the “Letters From Montreal” page, has been nominated. The story told the experience of a woman who had moved to Montreal, the city where Patrick is based. He actively works with both animation and illustration.Gerard DuBoisGerard has received three Honourable Mentions from the National Magazine Awards for his illustrations. His clients include the New York Times, the New Yorker, Globe and Mail, L’Actualité and many more established publications and has won many awards over his career.
This illustration appeared in the July 2014 issue of L’Actualité magazine, accompanying a story that was written in response to a book titled, 1 kilo de la culture générale, which speaks about a shift in cultural norms. His sophisticated spot illustration mimics the tone of the story, as the artwork is reminiscent of a traditional oil painting.Sébastien ThibaultThis is Sebastien’s first nomination for a National Magazine Award, but his work has appeared in many major publications, such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde and Wired magazine. His work has appeared internationally, in countries like Australia, Italy and Germany.
His spot illustration was featured in the November 2014 issue of The Walrus, accompanying a story about Naomi Klein’s research into climate change. The story brings attention to the link between climate change and capitalism, which Sebastien’s spot illustration clearly exudes.Joren CullJoren’s illustrations appear a staggering seven times in the May 2014 issue of The Walrus. Joren has also worked with many other esteemed publications, such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Readers Digest and the Globe and Mail. He has also illustrated the front cover of National Magazine Award-winning magazine, The Feathertale Review.
Accompanying a variety of pages, including the contributors, letters and editor’s note pages, his work is clearly distinct among the glossy pages.Do you have any predictions on who will win Gold?Tweet us your favourite #NMA15 nominee for Spot Illustration.At last year’s awards gala, the spot illustration category experienced unprecedented results, as both the Gold and Silver awards were presented to first-time winner, Gracia Lam. You can read our interview Gracia in which she talks to us all about the Spot Illustration’s special place in magazines, part of our Off the Page series on the NMAF blog.
You can view the complete articles of all National Magazine Awards nominees at magazine-awards.comTickets are on sale for the 38th annual National Magazine Awards gala, Friday June 5 at the Arcadian Court in Toronto.
See more 2015 National Magazine Awards Nominees.

Gracia Lam, by Gracia Lam.Off the Page is a regular interview series produced by the National Magazine Awards Foundation. Today we’re chatting with illustrator Gracia Lam, whose work has been published in Maisonneuve, The Walrus, More, Corporate Knights, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic and others. At last year’s National Magazine Awards, Gracia won both the gold and silver awards for Spot Illustration for two pieces of work published in Maisonneuve, the first illustrator ever to achieve that distinction.NMAF: The spot illustration holds a special place in the makeup of a magazine. Diminutive, often playful, sometimes underrated in comparison to larger elements of artwork. What do you think makes spot illustration such a fundamental component of a magazine story? Gracia LamGracia Lam: I think that spot illustrations are a splash of colour within a sea of text, constructing direction or a break for the reader’s eye. Within a confined space, it is carefully conceived to enhance the content of an article. It assists in the creation of tone and mood, and is used purposefully to amplify a reader’s senses and experience.NMAF: You achieved an unprecedented feat at last year’s National Magazine Awards, winning both the Gold and Silver medals in Spot Illustration for two different works published in Maisonneuve. The jury awarded gold to your spot illustration accompanying a story called “The Elite Yellow Peril,” which is a very evocative work. What was your creative vision for this piece, and was it created specifically for the text or did you have a broader idea in mind when you created it?Gracia: I often describe my two-dimensional pieces of illustrations as a short film. In film, the story is narrated through multiple frames and over a time period; my illustrations reveal the climax of a story in one frame.
My vision for the “The Elite Yellow Peril” was to create a connection with the viewer that is immediate and impactful. To achieve this, I created an illustration with imageries and representations as closely related to the text as possible.NMAF: The article that featured your Silver winning spot, “The Tar-Sands Trap” dealt with the highly controversial, nationally debated topic of the Keystone XL pipeline. As a spot illustrator, how does your level of awareness on the associated story influence your creative process? Before you begin working on an illustration, how does your familiarity with the topic guide your conceptualization process?Gracia: When working on any assignment, I allow the story to directly inform my creative process from conceptualizing initial sketches to final colourization. During the first read through of the assignment, I take notes and highlight bits and pieces of writing that round up the theme.
For “The Tar-Sands Trap” article, I needed to familiarize myself with specific elements of the story such as its location, the visualization of its landscape and environment, and the pipeline.
When the Art Director gives me complete freedom, I approach the conceptualization process with how I think the mood should be represented—which is to portray the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline as a danger to the community.NMAF: Your work has appeared in a large number of magazines, including many National Magazine Award-winning publications. Is there a “Gracia Lam” style that is boldly consistent throughout your work in various publications? And what is the process of adapting that style to align with the vision of the art director or of the textual part of the story?Gracia: My visual language is created using mixed media, combining hand painted and drawn elements along with digital execution. I love to delight the audience with wit by reimagining everyday objects, mundane environments, and familiar situations with visual puns.
The process of adapting that style is mainly through practice. I am grateful that throughout my career I have been given many opportunities on various topics and stories from business and finance articles to science and health stories. These challenges allow me to identify my strengths and edit out my weaknesses, so each project contributes to the gradual tightening and refining of my work and portfolio.

NMAF: You swept the Spot Illustration category at last year’s gala, taking home both the Gold and Silver awards. Before that, you had been nominated three times since 2010. Winning both top spots within a single category is no small feat. Can you describe the difference in transitioning from nominee to two-time winner? What effect have the awards had on your career since last year’s ceremony?Gracia: I was absolutely blown away by last year’s awards and want to thank the judges who recognized my work. I have always been excited to be nominated alongside many known names in the field—many of which are my peers and idols. The transition from nominee to winner is humbling because winning any award from the NMAs had been a goal. Since the awards last year, I have been working proficiently to improve on each piece to be on top of my own game.Gracia Lam is a National Magazine Award-winning illustrator, born in Hong Kong and raised in Toronto. She likes to reinvent everyday objects and mundane environments.. To view more of her work visitGraciaLam.com.
Special thanks to Leah Jensen for conducting this interview with Gracia Lam. To view more nominated and winning work, visit the National Magazine Awards online archive at magazine-awards.com/archive.
Check out more of our Off the Page interviews with National Magazine Award winners, including illustrators Byron Eggenschwiler, Roxanna Bikadoroff, Jillian Tamaki and Selena Wong.The nominees for this year’s National Magazine Awards will be announced right here on the NMA blog on May 4. This year’s awards gala is June 5 at the Arcadian Court in Toronto.

An interesting item over at TorontoLife.com has National Magazine Award-winning illustrators Gary Taxali and Graham Roumieu sitting down together for a beer and a chat about their craft, with the edited record of the event presented as a comic strip.

Gary Taxali and Graham Roumieu have won 6 National Magazine Awards between them, and have garnered 28 nominations overall for Illustration and Spot Illustration. We’ll leave it to you to visit the Awards Archive to find out who’s won what.